Eaton
The Adam Eaton experiment didn't work out in Philly. Ask fans what some of the worst signings in Philadelphia sports history are, and Eaton's name will come up quite often.

Eaton is still getting paid… a lot. There was a big problem though. His checks were being sent to the wrong Adam Eaton. Impostor?!

The Arizona Diamondbacks have an Adam Eaton of their own. A 19th round pick who has not played above the Double-A level, he was treated to a big surprise earlier this spring. He was just sitting in the clubhouse and was handed six checks from the union's licensing program. Each check was worth at least $20,000.

[Arizona Republic]

Eaton couldn't believe his eyes. The checks were from MLB's licensing department, but what had he done, he wondered, to deserve this kind of cash? A 19th-round pick in the 2010 draft, Eaton hasn't played above Double-A. And as a minor leaguer, he isn't even a part of the players' association.

Teammate Cody Ransom happened to see Eaton flipping through the checks and realized what had happened. We'll let Eaton tell the story:

"Cody's like, 'Those aren't yours,'" Eaton recalled. "I'm like, 'What do you mean they aren't mine? They're in my name.' He goes, 'That's the other Adam Eaton. Do you live there?' It had the address on the front. 'No.' I go, 'Do I have to give them back?' He's like, 'Yeah. You have to give them back.' I thought it over and I'm like, 'Yeah, I've got to give them back.'"

 

The coolest part of the story in my opinion is the fact that Arizona Eaton collects the other Adam's baseball cards and fan mail.


“I get a lot of fan mail for him,” Eaton said. “I’ve started collecting the cards. I think whenever I meet him I’m going to give all his cards back to him. I’ve thrown some away but I’ve got a stack of 10 or so right now that I’m holding ransom.

“I always get, ‘Hey, are you Adam Eaton the pitcher? Or any relation if you’re not?’ People say, ‘Hey, I remember you when you played with the Phillies.’ I just play along half the time because I don’t want to explain it to them because I hear it so much.”

 

Facts: Adam Eaton still gets fan mail… and someone is collecting it.

H/T Big League Stew